Bodyguard of Azula: The Boy Named Menma the Third
by Fan of Fanfics21
Summary: Non-canon story of Deus Swiftblade's Bodyguard of Azula. A thief among thieves has challenged the best of security to obtain a legendary artifact that secretly holds forbidden secrets in. In an attempt to stop this thief, Daimyo Miki has summoned Team Paragon to stop him and protect the sacred Too bad they're also facing one of the most dangerous enemy unknown to Naruto.
1. Call of the Thief

**Heya fellow fanfic believers, this is Fan of Fanfics21 with a special fic permitted by Deus Swiftblade, author of the major hit Avatar-Naruto crossover fic: Bodyguard of Azula. Under no circumstances this fic is highly non-canon under his decision unless he is able to fit it in his story. With further ado, let's begin!**

**Disclaimer: Fan of Fanfics21 does not own Naruto, Avatar the Last Airbender, or Bodyguard of Azula. Nor any other references to other works accept a certain few.**

* * *

The newly crowned Daimyo Miki sighed as she finished another session in the court as she made her way to her room to rest, only to hear something she didn't expect.

"A kung fu fiesta! En garde!" and the sounds of swords clashing as Miki ran to the source. There, she saw a blond boy wearing a lion porcelain mask fighting off the guards, and was winning. The most unexpected thing she saw was the masked boy appearing behind one of the guards and gave him a wedgie that caused the underwear he had to go over his head before being kicked to the wall. "Double Wedgie achievement unlocked!" he exclaimed humoursly as he looked over and saw Miki. "Run milady! He might be an assas-ugh!" the last guard was silenced as he was frozen in ice as the boy was walking up to her.

"Hello your Highness," the boy greeted with a polite bow as he dashed up and swept her off her feet as she was leaning backwards. "I'm the new thief in town with a message." he said as he looked at her straight in the eyes from behind his mask. "The Imperial treasure will be mine! Yours truly, Menma the Third!" he told her as she widen her eyes at the name.

"Memna the Third? As in Men-mrfff!"

What she could have finished was cut off by the boy lifting his mask a little and gave her a deep, passionate kiss that caused her foot to rise up from it as she was set standing upright in a daze. When she recovered, Menma was leaning backwards on an open window with his mask in place as he waved at her. "I'll call you sweetheart! Ahahahaha!" he laughed as she watched him fall backwards before running to the window and looked down to see the guards in frantic search of the intruder. "This is bad..." she muttered as she touched her own lips. "Really bad..."

Word had gotten out about the break in and the message to the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire as the five great nations have been thrown in a riot at the mention of Menma. The biggest challenge of all time was unleashed, and Miki needed the one team she knew could stop Menma the Second from stealing what she believed to be what he was targeting. The fastest messenger bird was sent to Konoha as 'Menma' himself watched from atop a spire of one of the city's roofs as he smirked under that mask of his. "Let's welcome chaos!"

* * *

When Tsunade read the message, her eyebrows furrowed and twitched with great fury as she broke the sake bottle she had in her hand, not caring of the spilt contents as she was now sober at what she read. _"Of all people, he's returned within the span of 3 weeks! I could have sworn he'd die already!"_ she swore with distaste as she signaled an Anbu to come forth. "Get Team Paragon here _now_." She growled out as the Anbu instantly faded out, sensing the ominous killing intent emanating from Tsunade.

"-so then you add the frozen peas and then chow down." Naruto finished as Sokka looked confused. "Wait Naruto, shouldn't you wait for the peas to thaw out before eating them in your ramen?" he asked. "No, you see, the frozen peas help cool the broth, and the broth warms the peas." He replied. As Sokka nodded his head at the idea, Azula couldn't help but roll her eyes. For the past half hour, Sokka had asked for advice about eating ramen and then this lecture from Naruto took place. While it was something productive for her boyfriend and his friend to have some bonding time, she was really bored. _"By Agni, let something interesting happen now."_ She thought, not knowing she was getting her wish.

An Anbu landed near them and walked up to them, gaining the attention of the three as the Anbu spoke. "Lady Tsunade needs Team Paragon immediately. And she's not in a good mood." He warned them as he poofed away. This gained the curiosity of the three as they quickly went to get June and Suki. No doubt they must have gotten the message as well.

As soon Team Paragon had entered the Hokage's Office, confused about the immediate summons as Tsunade had an irritated expression mixed with seriousness. "I'm glad you came, now this is the biggest mission I've ever assigned to anyone, ranking X." she spoke the minute they walked in.

"X-rank mission? What, the x stands for eXtreme or something?" Sokka asked jokingly as one glare from Tsunade instantly shut him up. "Yes, and the reason why this is the highest rank is because it came from the daimyo herself." She told them as everyone immediately stood straight and had serious expressions. Like the kind when helping Miki with dethroning her father and stopping the assassination. "What's the job?" Naruto asked as Tsunade looked at them, "All of you are to protect the Imperial Treasure, the Yata no Kagami from Menma the Third." She said, saying the name of the person with great vehemence. "Menma…the Third?" Suki asked, not knowing who it is as all of Team Paragon looked confused as Tsunade groaned with annoyance.

"Menma the Third, an infamous thief and assassin of such skill he's a legend among thieves and assassins that they practically worship the grounds he's stolen or killed on. He appeared sometime last year in winter making a name of himself real fast. He started out by declaring that Kumo's version of the Scroll of Forbidden Seals would be his, which resulted in maxed out security that'll make it suicidal for anyone to try and get it." Tsunade started out as she held out a file showing pictures of Kumo's buffed up security, causing June to whistle. "Now that is one tight level of security, did he back down?" she asked as the Hokage snorted. "Of course not, the most interesting thing is that he managed to steal the damn thing right in front of them while dodging every kunai, shuriken, jutsu, and ninja out to get him. He even fooled the Raikage and the Hachibi's Jinchūriki Killer Bee with a disguise when they were acting as the last line of defense in capturing Menma." She told them as Sokka blinked at that.

"Was he using some sort of…Henge jutsu was it?" he asked as Tsunade shook her head no. "He used actual clothes and makeup to look like a pregnant woman who lived outside of the village and did a well performed act of acting like a mood-swung mother that it completely fooled those two until he got out and then removed his disguise. That baffled the both of them as he got away." Tsunade replied with a wry smile on her face. "To this day, Kumo had a rather hard time coping with the fact they were outsmarted by a mere unorthodox thief and had a huge chip dented to their egos. Although the scroll was found and returned, there was a note that the contents were already copied by Menma himself. That led to giving him the bounty of 30,000,000 if caught dead or alive." Now that price on the bounty made the hunter whistle at the amount for one guy.

"Not to mention he's stolen the Jade Peach, national treasure from Kusa, the Dragon Claw from Iwa, and the Red Soulstone of Diablo from the Land of Demons; all priceless artifacts worth a fortune on the black market."

"Are there any other details we should know about?" Azula asked as Tsunade nodded. "He's claimed to be a part-time assassin, utilizing a forbidden ritual to call him to kill others. It is the vilest kind using human bones, flesh, a heart, with a knife rubbed in the petals of nightshade. It is an effigy surrounded by candles as the summoner repeatedly stabs the body and mutter 'Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.' In order to call him." She explained, showing Naruto a picture file of a seven year old boy invoking the ritual. This caused Naruto to frown as he looked at the picture. "Why did he do this?" he asked, referring to the picture.

"For vengeance against the owner of the orphanage here in Konoha for abusing the children and refusing to let them to be adopted. This was Kotaru Inugami who performed this ritual and called him. He had Menma kill the owner and dismember the body into pieces that even our autopsy had a hard time reconstructing. We're still missing parts of a hand, and the entire head that was requested by the boy to be removed and handed to him. To this day, the orphans hailed him a hero for killing that woman. Frankly, I think that woman deserved it for the reports from those kids." Tsunade replied as Naruto flipped through papers of what the children said about what the orphanage owner did. It sickened him, but he did not like it when the child took a choice of vengeance against that woman who formerly owned the orphanage.

"That was only the beginning, afterwards, out of numerous people, only several others were able to summon him with the…Black Sacrament. To them, he is the Avatar of Vengeance, a reaper that spills the blood of others in the name of vengeance. Our clue of how the very few to contact him were the ones with a hatred that ran deep within them. Only they could call Menma out for his assassination skills. Plus, you have to pay him in some way in order to gain his services. So far, he's killed minor nobles who abuse their powers, drug lords of the underground, and even the nephew of a Daimyo once." Tsunade reported as Naruto checked the pictures of the corpses of the victims of the 'Black Sacrament' as most of them were killed in specific ways.

"He is a ruthless, merciless, cunning, and dangerous person. A person that personifies what it meant to be a ninja in the old ways." A voice spoke, the one that instantly put Naruto on edge as every turned to see Danzō walking in. Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "What are _you_ doing here?" she demanded as Danzō ignored the tone of distaste from her. "Information on Menma, my resources tell me he has two accomplices with him. Two females, both masked." He replied bluntly as Tsunade's suspicions rose about the man. "How do you know this?" she asked as Danzō's single eye opened up and looked at her. "Because I have taken an interest in the abilities this boy uses, for his thieving skills look eerily familiar to certain techniques belonging to two certain clans." He replied as Tsunade knew that he was after Menma for whatever techniques he had.

"Really, so what two clans are these supposed techniques did Menma have learned from? Because no clan in history is willing to share their secrets with anyone." She told him as Danzō's lone eye locked with hers. "He was using the techniques of the Iga and Kōga clans." Were his very blunt replies as Tsunade was taken aback by those names; "Impossible…they're supposed to be…" she trailed off and bit her lip. "What kind of ninja clans are those?" Naruto asked, eyeing Danzō cautiously as Tsunade recovered and cleared her throat.

"The Iga and Kōga clans were the very first official ninja clans that were ever created, predating before the rise of the Sage of Six Paths, these two clans were the forefathers of all ninjas and clans as a whole. They were professionals as ninjas, of espionage, sabotage, assassination, and even thievery a few times as they were the shadows of the daimyo's in their time. They were the Ninjas of Shadows, the pinnacle of stealth in its truest form and were once great and powerful clans. But once the discovery of chakra was made and rise of other ninja clans. It caused the Iga and Kōga clans to start falling behind, staying to the old traditions as their numbers dwindled with the years. The last of them were dead and their names etched in history as extinct clans, but it seems that this Menma might be a distant descendant of the two clans or a promising student who was entrusted with their legacy." She explained as Suki partially understood why Menma might be doing this.

After all, she came from Kyoshi Islands and had continued an old traditional custom of warriors that went on for generations, bound to keeping honor to that tradition for as long as a single one of the people who lived on the island still stands. "…Menma must be doing this to honor the Iga and Kōga clans." She said out loud without realizing it as everyone turned to her. "It's just a hunch, but it seems that if Menma is a possible descendant or student, he wants to restore their tarnished honor by using his skills to humiliate the ninjas of this era." Suki told them as Sokka cupped his chin in thought and nodded. "Yeah, I kinda see the resemblance with a certain someone…" he trailed off, looking at Zuko expectantly as said Fire Lord glared at that.

"Yes, honor to the ancient ways of what it was meant to be a ninja…" Danzō said with a very rare smile. If Naruto wasn't on edge right now, he would've been paranoid by the expression. "I shall take my leave, it seems that I have a newfound respect for Menma, and what he believes is the true way of what it means to be a ninja." He said as he turned and walked out. Once the presence of Danzō was finally gone, Naruto finally relaxed.

"Out of curiosity, why do you seem to hate Menma?" Sokka asked gaining everyone's attention. "I notice you've been constantly irritated by the mere mentioning of him, and seem to have some sort of grudge against him." He explained as Tsunade sighed. "Well…Menma has been in Konoha for a while during spring. He's practically a legend among the kids and the demons of adults with the reputation he had. That and he's insane with what he does according to Jiraiya's spy network." She replied as Naruto raised a brow. "Due to him being a bodyguard for an idol during his visit, he's gotten away with many things, especially since there were thousands of fans of the idol here in Konoha that would ruin Konoha's reputation if she's ever assassinated." Tsunade continued as she rubbed her head.

"So why would an idol want to be assassinated?" Suki asked, not knowing this side of the world's culture and traditions. "To eliminate a threat to other idols and promote them to raise money." Tsunade answered straightforwardly. "But due to Menma being a bodyguard, most assassins refuse to make any moves, due to him being more skilled and have the mind of an expert assassin. His tactics I hear are brutal, lethal, and if he had the right stuff, could kill only the target without any other casualties. To them, to try and assassinate someone he's protecting knowing that an assassin is targeting them is suicidal. We figured that the hard way when he disposed of one of ours inside of Konoha." She said with her head down.

Azula could have sworn to have heard "And she was one of our best…" muttered by Tsunade as she shook her head. "So what's he done, humiliate Konoha with pranks?" she asked sarcastically as Tsunade growled at that. "He did. And he became known as 'The Second Coming of Naruto' for what he's done." She gritted out as everyone noticed pulsing veins as they all cautiously took a few steps back. "He's defiled the Hokage Monuments with suggestive wordings, tricked the Akimichi clan into eating diet foods, crushed other ninjas with _falling _cows, and, and, _**aaaannd…!"**_ she snarled in righteous anger as they could see the chakra emanating from her body in a massive surge. "We don't want to know the last one." Sokka spoke hastily as that was the final trigger.

"**That fuckin' son of a bitch covered almost all ninja in the Inuzuka's special breeding brews as the dogs of the Inuzuka clan were released as they humped and scarred for life many ninja at such humiliation that it made them commit suicide!" **she roared with uttermost fury as all of Konoha shook from the voice of the Hokage.

* * *

In his hideout with his two accomplices, Menma sneezed as he looked towards the direction of Konoha and smirked under his mask. "I see Tsunade is still pissed off about the Inuzuka Incident, I'm betting 50 ryo that she'll rip something apart real bad." He told the two. "Not betting on it." The other two depanned, knowing that in the end, he'll be proven right.

* * *

Once the rampage of Tsunade died down, all of Team Paragon peeked from behind the doorway to see the destruction brought upon by Tsunade as she was breathing raggedly, exhausted by her tantrum as she began calming down. "Anything else we might want to know before we go?" Sokka asked nervously as Tsunade held up a finger. "One more thing, he seems to have a strange relationship with the Akatsuki, ranging from trying to kill each other, to being best buds at the bar. Just take the damn files and go. I have a need of sake right now and I don't want to be disturbed." She told them, tossing the files to June who began looking through them as she walked away. Not wanting to stay, the rest of Team Paragon followed suite and looked through the files.

Naruto looked through the files of Menma's assassination targets, wondering what kind of person he is, and what he looks like as Sokka looked through the ones with Menma and the strange relationship with the Akatsuki. While he's hoping for some information on the target, there was a photo of a strange black hooded boy with a lion mask that reminded him of the kind the Anbu wear as he seems to be laughing at Itachi Uchiha who had a flushed face and was flirting shamelessly with a girl with Kisame having a 'WTF' expression on his face. Another one depicted the masked thief/assassin fighting Hidan and Kazuku, he didn't see any weapons, but the expressions of the two Akatsuki members looked like they loathed the kid with a great deal of hate. The next one was with him and Tobi, acting childishly as an annoyed Deidara tried to blow them up as they ran. All while looking at the photos, Sokka had one thing in mind; _"Where do they get these photos?"_

With that, Team Paragon prepared themselves for a mission that they'll never forget.


	2. The Role Calls

**Disclaimer: Fan of Fanfics21 owns absolutely nothing but his imagination, certain OCs, and the freedom of writing.**

* * *

They've arrived at their destination. Team Paragon blinked at the amount of samurai patrolling the area as even Kumo shinobi were here as well. Now _that_ was unexpected. "Looks like Kumo are still sore about Menma stealing from them." Sokka muttered as he noticed the intense aura the Kumo ninja had, and it was scary, heck, he could have sworn he saw electricity dancing around their bodies for some reason. "Team Paragon?" a samurai asked walking towards them. Azula was already going to tell that this might be even harder than the last mission they had here.

*Throne Room*

"Thank you all for coming at such a short notice." Miki greeted them politely as Team Paragon stood tall and serious. "We heard that you're having a problem with a skilled thief, but isn't calling samurai and ninja just to protect one ancient mirror a bit much?" June asked as Miki sighed. "Well, Kumo actually volunteered to aid in security for no charge, claiming that they want payback on Menma for that humiliation, I hear the Raikage and his brother are joining in on the job." She replied as Azula blinked. "Wound one's pride and ego, and then they're obsessed with payback. I wonder how the Asshole would have acted if Menma robbed him of all his stuff." Naruto mused as Azula had to hold back a snicker, no doubt Ozai would have torn the palace a new one in blind anger, cursing Menma while spilling out threats of torture and various levels of pain on inhumane levels for such humiliation.

"Speaking of which, I had just gotten a scroll from someone from the Bending Countries, a courier said it was from Fire Lord Zuko. I was told to hand this to you Azula." Miki spoke up, taking the girl out of her thoughts at the unexpected as she was given the scroll. She opened it and her eyes widened with shock. Naruto leaned in and his own eyes were widened. "Impossible, the Asshole is dead?!" he exclaimed as now June and Sokka were peering into the scroll.

It said that one night; Ozai was killed in the most brutal way possible. Mutilation beyond recognition and it seemed that an animal did it. But what disturbed everyone reading it was that the guards did not find the perpetrator responsible, but also writing in Ozai's own blood on his prison cell's walls saying: **"Retribution by the Child of the Damned-Menma the Third"**

"How'd he get past all of that security? I'm sure Ozai couldn't be rescued by any other loyalists to him even if they tried!" Sokka exclaimed as now everyone froze as they heard laughter. "Nothing is impossible my friend!" a cheery voice spoke as everyone turned to the source. Standing upside down on the ceiling, wearing a full-length black coat with a hood and a waist-high slit going up the back, a large silver zipper that fastens at the top and zips down to seal the coat, and silver drawstrings for the hood decorated with a large silver bead hanging from the end and a silver chain ornament adorned with four large cylindrical silver beads that fastens to a loop on either side of the collarbone region. The hood was still up but Miki knew that voice anywhere. "…Menma." She stated as all the samurai and ninja in the room with Team Paragon got into a fighting stance.

"Hiya beautiful, missed me?" Menma asked as he flipped down and landed on his two feet, just when two Kumo ninja were right in front of him with kunai aimed to kill. Blood stained the wooden floor, but it was not Menma's as everyone gasped at the sight of crystal pillars rupturing from the abdomen section of the two ninja as Menma snapped his fingers as the crystals consumed the two ninja as their bodies faded as they merged with the hooded boy. "Now that was rude, I just came here to greet Team Paragon and the next thing I knew idiots go charging headfirst without a plan and die. Those idiots know how to set up death flags for themselves ya know." He told them, shaking his head. That was when Naruto felt something off with this boy who was several years younger than him. "…A Shadow Clone?" he asked as Menma pointed at him immediately.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Due to being _so_ used to the technique, you've become aware of knowing if there is someone else with the same jutsu!" Menma replied in an amused tone. "But the Shadow Clone is a Konoha exclusive technique, how could you…unless…" Naruto trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and glared at Menma. "What? The security stunk, why it's the same way like it was when you first graduated that night and became a genin while learning of the burden you have." Menma shrugged as Naruto gritted his teeth. He knew of Naruto's burden as well, like it was an everyday occurrence. "Oh, just you wait, one day, I'll become Hokage and then everyone will acknowledge me and look up to me, believe it!" Menma exclaimed as Naruto felt a sickening feeling inside of him. This boy was starting to boil his blood; the way he was making fun of him of his past self was really getting to him.

"Did that hurt, oh I know, how about another one?" Menma asked as Azula looked at her boyfriend, noticing his eyes were changing. "I'll never go back on my word, that's my nindo, my ninja way!" Menma shouted out as the samurai and Kumo ninja looked at the scene, trying not to believe what this kid was doing. Naruto felt like an arrow pierced right through his entire body as his body became deathly still. "Naruto…?" Azula asked; developing a sense of foreboding as Sokka grabbed her arm. "We need to keep our distance, this could get ugly." He told her. She had no other options as she had a feeling this mission might end fast.

"You know what Naruto?" Menma asked as Naruto's eyes were overshadowed as he had his head down. "You are the filthiest, traitorous bastard out there. You've gone and broken your promises _twice_ if I can recall. First, you said that you'd change the so called fate of the Hyūga Clan after becoming Hokage, to free the Branch Members from the Caged Bird Seal. But guess what, you threw away your dream of becoming Hokage, effectively _breaking the promise_ you've made to Neji just like that. I'm sure you can remember _that_, don't you? Back in the Chūnin Exams years ago?" Menma asked as Naruto looked up as the words were getting into him.

"**Oi, Naruto, don't let him get to you. If you do, you'll lose control of your rage again."** Kyuubi warned him as Menma laughed. "Oh, that's fine with you trying to be the voice of reason with him Kyuubi." Menma called out, causing everyone to be startled by the statement, "But he's a stubborn bastard, you should know that by now. And let's not forget how you broke the promise to dear old Gao some time during the war, causing you to kill people left and right in blind rage." Menma continued as Naruto was paralyzed by what Menma was saying. "_How did he know…?"_ Naruto thought, his body burning with a primal rage as Menma was successfully pushing his buttons.

"You know what I think about you Naruto? The cold hard truth that you aren't aware of?" Menma asked, as everyone was drawn into his words, it was like he was reading Naruto like a book out loud. "This will get real ugly, and blood is going to stain the floor faster than a barter serving a cocktail mixed with venom on a hint of suicidal love." June commented as Sokka looked at her funny. "What? It's a real story."

"You're a hopeless idealistic idiot who thinks he's a hero, learning the hard way that no matter what, he cannot save everyone. A self-sacrificing fool who forsakes his own happiness for the happiness of others, a boy who cannot learn to love himself, unknowingly causing his 'precious people' to suffer as well whenever he makes the sacrifice. You make empty promises to others that you can't even keep one man alive. The look of despair on your face as you've realized what you've done like the little bitch you are…" Menma trailed off as Naruto's chakra began leaking out, changing from blue to red. Akela, who had been there the whole time staying silent sensing this vile evil, could not decide to either whimper, or snarl at the malice. So he snarled as the fur on the back of his spine rose.

"…Priceless." Menma finished as Naruto snarled as he glared at Menma with demonic red eyes as he charged at the boy with inhuman speed as a red fox shroud covered his body. _"Time Alter: Double Accel."_ Menma thought as to him, time was slowing down as Naruto was going at average speed in Menma's eyes as he grabbed the older boy's arm that was aimed for his face and with a bit of effort, pulled and slammed Naruto to the ground and then smashed his foot into Naruto's face, causing a dent in the wooden floor as time resumed at its normal pace. "You really need anger management squirt. And maybe therapy, yeah, that could work, or else I'll be having a blast with reminding you of your failures for the rest of the mission." He mocked as Naruto's other arm not currently being held by Menma and legs were wrapped in crystal as he was pinned down. But what startled Kyuubi was what Menma was doing.

First, he wasn't suffering from the burning effect of the chakra shroud that it usually does, and second, the crystals were feeding back a sinister black chakra that was forcing back his own chakra. When he came in contact with it, he immediately recoiled. It was hideous beyond words, a sense of wrongness on a level that it was even worse than any level of hatred he's encountered before. To Kyuubi, it was evil in every single detail. He finally sensed this malicious nature within Menma, and at the same time, Kyuubi felt something familiar as his own level of hate began to grow. That was when the seal was beginning to crack a little more than it should when his chakra leaked out into Naruto.

"Know this Naruto, I am the worst enemy you've ever come across. And I will enjoy seeing you suffer for your transgressions with the ultimate bliss a man could muster. Oh, and maybe you should try and not let people's words get to you, because that'll get you killed, not just by having those nightmares." Menma told him as with another stomp to the head with the right pressure, Naruto was out. That was when Menma muttered something, "…Shell." With that, a barrier of purple colored honeycomb pattered erupted to his side as it blocked a surge of lightning from an angry Azula as the hooded boy looked at her. "This idiot tries to carry all the burdens, as the girl he loves, help carry it with him, and remind him he's not alone. He's an idiot of course, but also the fungus that just grows on you."

If Azula didn't know any better, first Menma was dissing her boyfriend, now complimenting him, was he bi-polar? "Well, since this clone is running out of chakra, gotta poof." Menma said as he looked at Sokka, "Try and make this security challenging for me please, I want to see what you've got in that brilliant mind of yours…Paragon of Water." He said as he looked at June. "The hunt is one, question, are you the hunter, or the hunted?" he asked as the clone poofed out of existence. Now that question got under June's skin, he was taunting her with that question, _"I'll show him who's the hunted. Me and Nyla will show him!"_ she thought angrily. For some reason, that boy had gotten under her skin real easily.

* * *

*Menma*

"That was a risky move Menma." One of the two women, one donning a mask of a Kirin stated with her arms crossed as her pink hair fluttered in the wind from their view. "It was just a clone, and it seems that my old theory is correct. It still takes effect on Naruto whenever we're close." He mused. The other woman, with red hair and wearing a kitsune mask, looked at him. "You mean how he was acting hot-blooded and charged headfirst? I thought it was common for him to do that." She said as Menma shook his head. "No, whenever I encounter Naruto Uzumaki, whether it is me as a clone or not, causes us to resonate again and draw out the Original Persona Naruto from him. Or rather, any Naruto out there." He replied as the woman with the Kirin mask glared at him. "Shouldn't you be careful with what you say? There could be others eavesdropping on us." She told him as Menma laughed.

"No, how could anyone find us at the moment and learn we're dimension travelers eh? Unless our friends from behind the Fourth Wall are paying attention to the details of what I'm saying and are now curious of whom we are, then we're fine." Menma replied with a carefree shrug. "I'd be careful though, we're still in enemy territory, and also, what did you mean by bringing in the 'other players' exactly before you sent that clone?" she asked. Menma chuckled, "That's easy Éclair, why our dear lovable obsessed 'cops'!" he replied with a grin under his mask.

"Oh, so it's _them!_" the kitsune masked woman exclaimed, a hint of humor in her tone as the dubbed Éclair rolled her eyes from behind her mask. "I have a feeling this is going to get chaotic in the future." Éclair muttered as she looked at the direction of Konoha, already predicting the actions of a certain girl and the people that are going to be dragged into the hell Menma's going to create. Éclair had to always keep these two under watch as the straight man of the group on their mission for funding for a big time mission of theirs. And she'd be damned if they're caught by something crazy Menma cooked up, like now.

* * *

*Konoha*

"A little bit faster Lady Hinata." Neji told his cousin who nodded her head as she tried to perform the Eight Trigrams 64 Palms again. The two cousins had been practicing the Gentle Fist Style repeatedly to see what improvements there were needed, and so far, Hinata needed to increase her speed. "Understood Neji," Hinata replied as her Byakūgan began activating again, only for her to look up ahead as Neji followed her sight to see Lee and Tenten jumping from the trees of the training ground to them. "Neji, did you hear the news!?" Lee exclaimed with a fiery passion in his eyes. "No, I didn't, what happened?" Neji asked stoically as Tenten was the one to speak up. "There's news on Menma on TV, he's returned!" she exclaimed. The minute Neji heard that, he immediately turned to Hinata to see the spot she was in gone. He looked towards the direction of Konoha, and Hinata was already at the end of the training grounds.

"_Such speed!"_ he thought in shock, for he never had seen that kind of speed unless Lee took off his weights, and _that_ took lots of training, and he could already tell Hinata's passion was relit as she screamed on name out to the heavens.

"**Menma!"**

* * *

**By the way, I've posted the first chapter of Heir of Deathwing, a Naruto/Warcraft crossover that tells the story of Naraku the Worldbreaker and how he rose to power. The Origin Story.**


	3. One Jump Ahead

**Disclaimer: Fan of Fanfics21 owns nothing but his insane ideas.**

**Now this chapter is utterly insane with what I am writing. I'm surprised I didn't write this on drugs (which I don't, 'Drug free is the way to be!')**

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To say the unexpected is something Naruto didn't experience is something not to be taken lightly; especially with Hinata. The next morning while discussing how to increase defenses and patrols in the palace, Hinata barges in with her teammates, Team Asuma, and Team Gai with her. But the unexpected part was Hinata's…attire. Her coat was open; she was wearing a sports bra like mesh armor, and really short shorts with lipstick on her lips. Plus, she actually threatened to permanently destroy his manhood with her Gentle Fist if she isn't the one to capture Menma. To say that caught him off guard was truly unexpected as she was utterly serious.

"I'm telling you, Menma isn't your ordinary burglar. He's an unorthodox thief and has a knack of getting what he wants one way or another Lady Miki." Hinata told the Daimyo as Team Paragon were really disturbed by this Hinata. "Her personality did a 180," Azula commented as Kiba coughed and laughed weakly. "Yeah, apparently Menma kept messing with her numerous times before and had actually shown his face to her. She won't tell us who he looks like and she seems to be very determined to capture Menma." He told her. Shino pushed his glasses back as they gleamed from under his hood, "Her subconscious is very powerful when it comes to her obsession with Menma. One time she was hit with enough electricity to knock out an elephant for three days, only to recover 30 seconds later to continue pursuit." He told her as Sokka looked at the new Hinata with a disturbed expression.

"How long has it been since the last Menma incident?" he asked as Kurenai was the one to speak up. "Since Naruto killed Orochimaru. Due to the stunt Naruto did, Menma stole the Kusanagi, eluded all of us, and even flipped off Lord Jiraiya before we all lost sight of him." She replied as Lee came into the conversation. "Menma is my eternal rival, his hip and cool ways have always reminded me of Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei's rivalry, and I aim to defeat Menma in one on one combat of pure taijutsu!" he told them as Gai looked at Lee with manly tears. "Oh Lee, my ever youthful student, don't ever lose that flame!"

"Gai-sensei…" Lee started only to be knocked out by a rock with a note attached. "WHAT?! WHO DARES ATTACK MY YO-"Gai demanded, only to be knocked out by another rock. "Menma…" Hinata depanned as she took the note from the rock that knocked out Lee and read it. "Shut up Lee, you're ruining my sleep." She read in monotone as she crumpled it up. "Take Lee and Gai-sensei to their rooms." She told Neji and Tenten who merely shook their heads and proceeded to drag the two green clad ninja away.

"So Hinata, why are you so obsessed with Menma, I mean sure, he has done a few wrong things to you, but why?" June asked as she was downright curious of how a meek girl could do a 180 for one guy. "Let's just say he's someone I've longed for, but have to be more aggressive to get him." She replied as June nodded, accepting it as a proper answer. "Still can't believe she's Yandere for that guy." Kiba whispered to Shino who nodded, June heard it and wondered what a Yandere is. Before she could however, she heard some sort of riot coming from the town. "That's odd; the town is usually peaceful, saves for the occasional festivals and failed bandit raids; which is neither from the way it sounds." Miki commented as Hinata narrowed her brow. "Did anyone have an animal companion with them, save for Akamaru who's with us?" Hinata asked as said dog barked.

"Just Akela and Nyla who are just relaxing right now," Sokka replied as Hinata bit her lip as if trying to tell him something. "I think they've gotten tangled up with whatever mischief Menma is in." she replied as Sokka and June looked at each other before bolting for the door. "Shouldn't you go after them?" Miki asked as Hinata shook her head. "No, we'd be drag into whatever 'party' he's throwing for the city then." She replied with distaste. "Party?" Naruto and Azula asked.

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/48 minutes ago-Akela and Nyla-/

"I really want to get a piece of that nice slab right there." Nyla spoke as Akela looked at the butcher shop as well. "I know what you mean, I mean, those things are nice, juicy, and tender!" Akela agreed as he licked his wolfish lips with delight. "But we promised the others not to cause any trouble…" he said with his ears down as Nyla had a down expression as well. "How about I help get you guys some?" a voice asked as Nyla snorted. "That'd be nice, but then we'd need to explain to Sokka and June of how we got them." The shirshu replied before pausing as it immediately recognized one fact. It was a human voice and that it sounded familiar, and at the same time, not familiar. Akela noticed this too as the two animals turned to see Menma with his hood up and hiding his masked face in the shadows.

"Menma!? What are you doing here?" Akela snarled as Nyla had his tongue ready to lash out at the boy. "At ease you two, I'm off duty right now." The only human said with his hands up in defense. "Really, and then why are you talking with us?" Nyla asked as both Akela and Nyla paused and realized something. "…are you talking to us?" they asked as Menma laughed. "Yes I am, I see that even here, the ability to use Animal Dialect has been lost to the humans. Thank Hermaeus Mora for that." He replied with a hidden smile.

This caught the two mammals to snap out of their stupor as they were on edge and snarled at him. "Big whoop, once we capture you. My momma is going to reward me greatly!" Nyla shot back as Menma scoffed. "Well, could you enjoy a bit of entertainment with making humans fools of themselves? I guarantee you it'll be fun. Plus, if Sokka and June come running and demand on what's going on, I'll say I had you two under my genjutsu to make you guys seem like you're under my control." He replied as Nyla stopped for a minute. "Nyla, please don't tell me you're…" Akela said, looking at the bigger mammal with distraught. "Can you get me that mega big juicy one over there?" Nyla asked as he used his snout to gesture at the largest piece of meat on the market. Menma whistled, "Done, and I'll throw in a nice juicy well-cooked steak for the both of you guys later on tonight when you're both alone. Best cures I know used." He agreed.

The mentioning of cooked steak sent drool down both Akela's and Nyla's mouths as they tried to remain in control of themselves. "We'll help!" they insisted. Behind the hood and mask, Menma grinned, "Wouldn't have it any other way." He replied.

/34 minutes ago/

"Stop thief!" a guard shouted as Menma stopped at the ledge of the building he was on and nearly dropped the scroll in his hand as he turned around. "I'll have your hands for a trophy street rat!" one of them said as Menma looked at his scroll. "All this for some raw meat?" he asked before jumping down the building. "You won't get away that easy!" another guard shouted as Menma laughed. "You think this is easy?" he shot back as the pedestrians laughed as Menma disguised himself with the crowd. "Good afternoon ladies," Menma greeted as he continued his usual conversations with the shopkeepers. "It's a little too early to start getting into trouble today, aren't we Menma?" one of them asked.

"Trouble? Hah, no way…You're only in trouble if you get caught." Menma replied. "Gottcha!" Another guard exclaimed as he saw through Menma's disguise and held him by the front of his coat. "I'm in trouble!" Menma stated. "And this time-!" the guard said before he let go and fell to his side paralyzed as a long tongue retracted to its owner. "Perfect timing Nyla, as usual." Menma saluted as the shirshu nodded his head and began hiding. "Time to get out of here…" Menma said to himself as he began making a run for it.

"Gotta keep…One jump ahead of the breadline," Menma spoke as he avoided a swing from a guard as it destroyed a barrel containing large fish. "One swing ahead of the sword!" he continued as he avoided the next one and swiped the guard's belt, causing the man's pants to fall down to reveal his boxers.

"I steal only what I can't afford. That's Everything!" He added with a laugh as he ran off while the guard pulled up his pants (which was actually a huge fish instead) and hopped after him as Menma stopped when another guard landed in front of him.

"One jump ahead of the lawmen," He continued in a musical tone as he avoided a swing from the guard's sword as it got stuck on one of the shopping stall's support beams. "That's all, and that's no joke!" Menma said as he ran up a pile of barrels and looked down at the guards that were coming after him. "These guys don't appreciate I'm broke!" he added as he tipped a barrel that knocked all of the guards down as they were coated in maple syrup from the destroyed barrel.

"Riff raff!"

"Street rat!"

Guards called out as Menma got to a nearby building structure and looked down to only avoid being hit with fruit from a nearby stand.

"Scoundrel!"

"Take that!"

"Just a little snack guys!" Menma tried to reason only to hide behind a support beam as numerous weapons hit it. "Rip him open, take it back, guys!" the guards shouted as they began breaking down the construction building. Menma sighed as he dramatically took a step to the edge. "I can take a hint, gotta face the facts," he continued as he fell, only for Akela to toss him a rope from a nearby roof as he grabbed it and swung into a nearby window. "You're my only friend Akela!" he said thanking them as he realized he was in a brothel.

"Who? Oh it's that sad Menma's hit the bottom!" they said as one tied him in a silky scarf. "He's become a one man who rhymes with crime!" they added as he was spun like a top out of the scarf as he crashed into the cleaning lady who was not amused. "I'd blame parents except he hasn't got em'!" she said as he ducked under her broom as he started flirting with the ladies. "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat; tell you all about it when I've got the time!" he said as he leaned on an open window as one of them pushed him off as he bounced off

"One jump ahead of the slow pokes," he continued as he posed as a shadow for a muscle man doing poses. "One skip; ahead of my doom," he added as the man did a pose Menma could not follow as he quickly made his getaway. "Next time gonna use a nom de plume!" "There he is!" the guards exclaimed as the crashed into each other and started pursuing Menma. Said hooded masked boy was jumping over sheep as the guards had to walk through and toss a few to get to him.

"One jump, ahead of the hit men! One hit ahead of the flock," he said as he landed on solid ground and began to put his hand in his pockets and start dashing for it. "I think I'll take a stroll around the block…"

"Stop Thief!"

"Vandal!"

"Outrage!"

"Scandal!"

"Let's not be too hasty…" Menma reasoned as he was pinned down as guards surrounded him. Then a door opened up behind him as an incredibly hideous lady picked up bridal style. "Still I think he's rather tasty!" she said as Menma got the chills being in her hold as he rolled out and was encircled by the guards. "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat, otherwise we'd get along." he said trying to reassure them. "WRONG!" the guards shouted as they dog piled him, only to notice he was gone. "Get him!" the chief shouted as Menma ran past a few other guards. That was when Akela came in, sword in mouth as he tried to look intimidating. "Look, he's got a sword!" one of them panicked as the chief rolled his eyes at the stupidity of these men. "You idiots, we've all got swords!" he exclaimed as he drew his, with the men doing the same as Akela sheepishly dropped the blade and ran off as Menma mentally thanked Akela for distracting them for a bit.

"One jump ahead of the hoof beats!" Menma continued as the street in front of him was blocked off by both guards and previous people he's stolen from before.

"VANDAL!"

"One hop ahead of the hump," Menma quickly changed courses as he turned left, only for that street to be blocked off as well.

"STREET RAT!"

"One trick ahead of disaster!" he continued as he ran up the nearest wall to the rooftops as Kumo ninja jumped in with pissed off expressions on their faces.

"Scoundrel!

"They're quick," he admitted but then grinned underneath his mask, "but I'm much faster!"

"Take that!"

The threw kunai infused with chakra at him, as Menma noticed a few as he created a barrier and dashed past them without any harm as they were bewildered by that as he grabbed a nearby carpet. "Here goes, better throw my hand in! Wish me happy landin'." He told them as they charged at him. "All I gotta do is jump!" he shouted as he did indeed jump, using the carpet as a glider as the Kumo ninjas fell into piles of dung as their reputation got ruined even further.

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*Now-Present Time-*

"So how is it?" Menma asked as Nyla gorged on the biggest steak with content. "Never felt so happy to such a treat." He replied as he finished his as Akela gnawed on the bone of his food. "Can't wait to try your cured meats; hope it tastes good." He said as Menma scoffed. "Please, I'll use a few of the best spices for the cures and you'll be singing a new tune afterwards." He replied as Menma looked in a new direction. "Better set up the act boys, see you all tonight for the specialty afterwards." He told them as he stood as Sokka and June ran towards them. "You really should keep your precious friends here safe. It was easy to sway them to my side with my abilities. While most animals are easily manipulated via mind control, these two actually resisted for a good while. I'd say you've trained them well." Menma commented in monotone as he snapped his fingers.

Following cue, Akela and Nyla stopped what they were doing and got into an aggressive stance at both, doing their very best to look intimidating as Sokka and June glared at Menma. "While I had my share of fun today, I bid you kiddies' adieu!" he mocked as he tossed a smoke bomb as everyone was (minus Nyla) blinded by the smoke. When it died down, Menma was gone. Then Nyla and Akela knew the time was up and pretended to faint as their respective owners ran up to check up on them.

/Hotel/

"They seem to be fine, and their memories are intact though they can't recall what happened. I was certain we would obtain information on Menma's hideout." Ino told them as Sokka and June sighed in relief of what happened. "Hinata, you've hunted Menma many times before, do you have any details on what he could have used to affect their memories?" Naruto asked as Hinata narrowed her eyes and activated her Byakūgan. "Let's see…bingo." She said as she walked outside and up to Nyla and thrusted her palm right into his stomach. End result was the Shirushi barfing as a clank was heard. Picking the object up and clearing it of vomit, Hinata held a small crystal in her hand. "This is the source." She said as everyone looked at it.

"That little rock did this to Nyla?" June asked as she picked it and examined it. "Yes, Menma has a strange type of jutsu involving these crystals. They use energy of an unknown origin to use them, and once their purpose is done, they lose power and are worth nothing but a small nice amount of cash to jewelers who buy them." She explained as Nyla wondered how Menma got that in his stomach unless…

"So, do these crystals have any connection, like any specific jewelers who buy them?" Sokka asked with a serious expression on his face as Kiba was the one to speak up. "If you're looking for any connections to them and Menma, you're out of luck. They've all been checked clear by Ino herself." He told them as Sokka snapped his fingers in disappointment. "So Hinata, what was this 'party' you were talking about earlier?" Azula asked as she eyed the crystal oddly. It gave her a disturbed feeling, as it felt familiar to her somehow. "Menma is known for mischief whenever he's not pulling a heist, and tends to humiliate the guards and ninja on patrol. Kumo ninja were the ones who've suffered the most damage to their egos and pride yet again." Hinata told her without any care for the Kumo ninja.

"Come to think of it Hinata, you sound like you know him like he was a friend. What's up with that?" Suki asked as Hinata sat down and sighed. "Well, Menma has a thing for this cat and mouse game he's created for me, always helping me whenever I'm threatened to lose my task of hunting him down. He's actually saved me a few times from getting killed by others, probably because he didn't want his fun to end prematurely. But whenever I lack funds to go on another hunt for him, he somehow gets me involved with discovering illegal smugglings, slave traders, and potential drug factories that boosted my reputation of being a 'ninja detective' of sorts." She snorted as she folded her arms.

While Azula nodded, she couldn't help but look at Hinata's chest and mentally compare her own, average sized ones to Hinata's bigger ones. "So I suggest adding more security and traps and pay attention whenever they deactivate. That way, we can plan ahead on how to counter his heist and arrest that little bastard for good." Hinata told them as Naruto saw the obsession in her eyes. Hinata was dead set on Menma. "Can't we just switch the treasure Menma seeks with a realistic fake one?" he asked as Hinata blinked. "Well, we could try that, but it depends on the object he's after and its value. If it's one of a kind, then it won't fool the likes of him. What is he after exactly?" she asked.

"The Yata no Kagami," Azula replied, watching as Hinata blinked a few times before laughing. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard, but I could have sworn you said he's after the Yata no Kagami." She said as Azula shook her head. That made Hinata stop laughing and was now dead serious. "Then we better prepare the security and traps, now." She ordered in a dead serious tone that left no for arguments as Naruto was really wondering what the hell was wrong with Hinata as she began walking towards the palace. "What's her problem?" he asked as Kiba sighed. "Man Naruto, after all those years of growing up and maturing, you're still an idiot at times you know?" he said as he and Akamaru walked right past him.

"What was that?" Naruto growled as Shino was walking past him as well, only to pause and turn back to him. "You really need to study your lore. The Yata no Kagami is a sacred mirror that belonged to the sun goddess Amaterasu when she walked the planes of mortals. The mirror has mystical powers that bestows certain mortals her blessings, a power that rivals the sun. But another part of the lore claims that the mirror can also bring anyone back from the dead…with no consequences." He explained as his glasses gleamed in the darkness as he followed his teammates quietly. What Naruto just heard hit him like a bell, if the mirror had that power, then that could mean…

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/Hotel-Outside/

"Man that was the best time of fun I've ever had without June." Nyla commented as he licked his lips in anticipation. "Agreed, and the _only_ time we cause trouble agreed?" Akela replied as he suddenly smelled something incredibly delicious; cooked meat, heading this way. "Did someone order some fancy steaks for the occasion?" asked one Menma the Third as he carried two giant plates with cooked cured steaks and laid them down. Nyla immediately pigged in and chomped down on his steak as Akela merely walked up and bit into his, savoring the flavors. "Well, I had my share of fun, and as promised, I give you your steaks. Well then, take care guys." Menma told them as he waved and walked off without a care in the world while whistling a tune.

"Mmm mmm! That is some mighty fine steak!" Nyla commented as he licked the plate for any more as Akela just finished his. "Indeed, I bet Sokka would have cried if he were here not to enjoy a taste of heaven." Akela agreed as the wolf stretched before returning inside as Nyla went to a nearby cozy area in the yard and began to sleep off his food. "Damn, what I wouldn't do for another one…" Nyla yawned as he fell asleep.


End file.
